Send by mail :

Last Name :

Name :

From* :

To* :

(You can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas)

Message :

*Required fields

ST. LOUIS, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sigma-Aldrich® Corporation (Nasdaq: SIAL) today announced that Sigma Life Science, its innovative biological products and services research business, launched the first kit to precisely and efficiently integrate transgenes into the rat genome. The highly affordable CompoZr® Targeted Integration Kit - Rosa26 integrates transgenes into the conserved, ubiquitously expressed Rosa26 safe harbor locus in the rat genome. The Rosa26 locus is widely studied in mice, however CompoZr Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) are the first technology to enable routine access to the Rosa26 locus in the rat genome. For more information on this kit, as well as CompoZr Targeted Integration Kits for mouse and human genomes, visit www.sigma.com/targetedkits.

"Previously, integrating foreign genes of interest into rat cell lines hasn't been an option because of the limitations of existing random integration techniques," said Dr. Supriya Shivakumar, Global Commercial Market Manager of Emerging Technologies at Sigma Life Science. "This CompoZr ZFN-based kit enables researchers to cost effectively and rapidly generate a gene knockin in rat cells for the first time."

Traditional transgenic approaches for rat cells rely on random integration of a transgene. This low efficiency approach results in random integration events at off-target insertion sites. It can also errantly integrate multiple copies of the transgene at one site and requires the use of laborious antibiotic selection strategies.

In contrast, by using the CompoZr ZFN technology, a single copy of a transgene can be targeted to and inserted exclusively in the Rosa26 safe harbor locus in the rat genome. Sigma's CompoZr Targeted Integration Kits employ CompoZr ZFNs for precise and heritable gene knockin, enabling rapid and straightforward creation of transgenic cell lines.

Kits include the necessary ZFNs and donor plasmid to successfully perform transgene integration by ZFN-assisted homologous recombination. The kit was tested and validated externally to confirm proper transgene integration and absence of cellular toxicity, which indicates off-target cleavage.

Cautionary Statement: The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "precisely and efficiently" or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding potential future revenues from products derived there from. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that CompoZr Targeted Integration Kit - rRosa26 will assist the Company to achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding products associated with that CompoZr Targeted Integration Kit - rRosa26 could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the Company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Company's assets and liabilities as recorded in its consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Sigma-Aldrich's current Form 10-K on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Sigma-Aldrich is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Sigma Life Science: Sigma Life Science is a Sigma-Aldrich business that represents the Company's leadership in innovative biological products and services for the global life science market and offers an array of biologically-rich products and reagents that researchers use in scientific investigation. Product areas include biomolecules, genomics and functional genomics, cells and cell-based assays, transgenics, protein assays, stem cell research, epigenetics and custom services/oligonucleotides. Sigma Life Science also provides an extensive range critical bioessentials like biochemicals, antibiotics, buffers, carbohydrates, enzymes, forensic tools, hematology and histology, nucleotides, amino acids and their derivatives, and cell culture media.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company whose biochemical, organic chemical products, kits and services are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostics and high technology manufacturing. Sigma-Aldrich customers include more than 1.3 million scientists and technologists in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals and industry. The Company operates in 40 countries and has nearly 9,000 employees whose objective is to provide excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to accelerating customer success through innovation and leadership in Life Science and High Technology. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its website at www.sigma-aldrich.com.

Sigma-Aldrich and Sigma are trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co, LLC registered in the US and other countries. CompoZr is a registered trademark of Sigma-Aldrich Co, LLC.